Razorbacks finish tournament with a win

BY ANDRES FOCIL

Tampa, Fla. – The Arkansas softball team wrapped up its play at the USF Invitational with a 5-1 win over Wisconsin; giving it a weekend record of 2-1 and improving its overall record to 6-2.

In their final matchup of the weekend both the Razorbacks and the Badgers offense got off to a slow start not scoring a run until the top of the fourth. Wisconsin struck first and with a runner brought in, in the top of the fourth after a two singles. Arkansas did not give in and went to work in the bottom of the fifth scoring three runs to give it a 3-1 lead. The Razorbacks grabbed two more runs in the bottom of the sixth giving them the 5-1 lead. Sophomores Jennifer Rambo and Clarisa Navarro both grabbed their second homeruns of the season, Rambo’s over the right field fence and Navarro’s an in the park homer. "I was really excited how our energy level stayed up for the whole game," said Head Coach Mike Larabee.Junior Chelsea Cohen threw all seven innings collecting two strikeouts and improving her record 1-1 for the weekend and to 3-2 for the season."I was really pleased with Chelsea’s performance in the circle," said Larabee. "She had a tough loss the night before against USF and really responded well against Wisconsin."As a team, Arkansas outscored its opponents 15 to 9 this weekend scoring 12 of the 15 in the final three innings of its games. The Razorbacks batted .326 and recorded three homeruns, eight doubles and 14 RBI in the three games. "Overall we still have a lot of things to work on, but I am glad to come out with a 2-1 record in the USF Invitational, "said Larabee.The pitching staff made up of Cohen, and Freshmen Kimmy Beasley and Ciara Clampitt combined for 17 strike outs, eight more than their opponents.Eight games into the season, the Razorbacks are ahead of their opponents in almost every category in the stat book. The Razorbacks batting .330 have outscored their opponents 55-19. There have been 10 homeruns hit by seven different players; this is eight shy of tying total homeruns from the 2011 season. The Razorbacks are back in action next weekend when they host the Arkansas Invitational, Feb. 24-26. Arkansas will play Northwestern State in its first game of the tournament at 3 p.m. on the 24; followed by a matchup with Tennessee State at 5:30 p.m. Jackson State will also be in the tournament. The tournament is set up in a round robin format with to two top teams playing for the championship on Sunday.For more information regarding Razorback softball or University of Arkansas athletics, please visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com.